Senior Leadership
Meet the Team
Heather Reynolds, President & CEO
Heather Reynolds is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Catholic Charities Fort Worth (CCFW), where she leads the strategic direction of the Fort Worth–based, $32 million nonprofit serving tens of thousands of individuals and families each year across the 28-county Diocese of Fort Worth. CCFW delivers direct services, innovative poverty solutions, and income-generating social enterprises rooted in a relentless commitment to ending poverty—meeting families in the crisis they face today while building real, long-term pathways out of poverty.
Reynolds returned to CCFW in 2026 after seven years advancing the fight against poverty on a national scale at the University of Notre Dame, where she served as the Michael L. Smith Managing Director at the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO). There, she helped grow LEO from a $1.5 million operation to more than $10 million annually, all in service to a mission grounded in rigor, evidence, and scaling what works.
Prior to Notre Dame, Reynolds spent 17 years at Catholic Charities Fort Worth, beginning her career as an intern at age 22 and becoming President and CEO at just 25. Under her leadership, CCFW transitioned from a primarily federally funded organization to one fueled by private philanthropy and bold vision. She led the organization toward a “both/and” approach— responding to immediate hardship while building long-term, research-backed solutions—work that laid the foundation for Padua® and Stay the Course®, nationally recognized models designed to help families escape poverty.
A nationally recognized voice on poverty and nonprofit strategy, Reynolds is known for challenging assumptions, pushing teams to innovate, and pursuing the relentless and often audacious goal of ending poverty. Her leadership has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Benemerenti Medal from Pope Benedict XVI, the Center for Nonprofit Management’s Nonprofit CEO of the Year, and TCU’s Social Work Alumnae of the Year award.
Reynolds holds a Bachelor of Social Work and an Executive MBA from Texas Christian University, as well as a Master of Social Work from The University of Texas at Arlington.
Josh Audi, Chief Financial Officer
Joshua grew up in Maryland and graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts: Economics and Government and Politics. He planned to move to Turkey, but God steered him to Texas when a work opportunity came up with Catholic Charities Fort Worth. He started at CCFW 17 years ago in a temp position doing data entry where he fell in love with the mission and the people he worked with. Joshua continued his education at the University of Texas at Arlington where he received his Masters of Professional Accounting. He Excels as the current Chief Financial Officer.
Joshua is a devoted father and husband to a native Texan, Elizabeth, and his four children. He not only enjoys playing soccer, but he also coaches his boys’ soccer teams, and finds time to play an active role in his sons’ school PTA. He is the master of balance!
Josh Audi, Chief Financial Officer
Joshua grew up in Maryland and graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts: Economics and Government and Politics. He planned to move to Turkey, but God steered him to Texas when a work opportunity came up with Catholic Charities Fort Worth. He started at CCFW 17 years ago in a temp position doing data entry where he fell in love with the mission and the people he worked with. Joshua continued his education at the University of Texas at Arlington where he received his Masters of Professional Accounting. He Excels as the current Chief Financial Officer.
Joshua is a devoted father and husband to a native Texan, Elizabeth, and his four children. He not only enjoys playing soccer, but he also coaches his boys’ soccer teams, and finds time to play an active role in his sons’ school PTA. He is the master of balance!
Kristy Brown, Head of Advancement
Kristy has been a CCFW team member since 1998. Her commitment to end poverty for her friends and neighbors in need is paramount to the continued success of our organization. From front line staff to the Development team, Kristy’s numerous accomplishments include the capital campaign for CCFW’s Fort Worth campus, the $50 million KNOW Poverty Initiative and the creation of our agency’s Endowment, which ensures that CCFW can end our clients’ poverty for generations to come. In her current role as Head of Advancement, Kristy is responsible for overseeing CCFW’s annual fundraising goal of more than $11 million.
A Fort Worth native, Kristy is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington. She’s a self-professed true crime junky and a lover of traveling, live music and her faith, which she takes particular pride in sharing with her beloved five-year-old daughter, Trinity Grace.
Cindy Casey, Head of Client Services
Cindy Casey is the Head of Client Services at Catholic Charities Fort Worth. As such, she oversees long-term case management programs, including Padua, which is a randomized control trial conducted in partnership with the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities at the University of Notre Dame. She has worked at CCFW for 12 years and was part of the management team that oversaw the introduction of the agency’s Padua Poverty Pilot in 2014.
Cindy has lead the Padua team through the development of strategies that support client engagement and success by specializing in a problem solving framework and strategic use of resources and financial assistance. In addition to general case management and Padua, Cindy oversees the agency’s Resource Stability program, Client Outreach; and the agency’s Career Development team.
Cindy Casey, Head of Client Services
Cindy Casey is the Head of Client Services at Catholic Charities Fort Worth. As such, she oversees long-term case management programs, including Padua, which is a randomized control trial conducted in partnership with the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities at the University of Notre Dame. She has worked at CCFW for 12 years and was part of the management team that oversaw the introduction of the agency’s Padua Poverty Pilot in 2014.
Cindy has lead the Padua team through the development of strategies that support client engagement and success by specializing in a problem solving framework and strategic use of resources and financial assistance. In addition to general case management and Padua, Cindy oversees the agency’s Resource Stability program, Client Outreach; and the agency’s Career Development team.
Tanya Lipscomb, Head of People Team
Tanya is a skilled Human Resources leader with more than 20 years’ experience in building and leading successful teams. She has worked in both the non-profit and for-profit sector, and has the unique ability to create organizational and relational strategies to further the mission and vision of CCFW.
Tanya holds a Master of Arts in Organizational/HR Management from Dallas Baptist University. She is the youngest of six and the first member of her family to graduate college. She resides in Arlington with her husband of nearly 40 years and enjoys spending time with her five grandbabies and celebrating Christmas all year long.
Laura Sotelo, Head of Regional Operations & Business Development
Laura grew up in Iowa where her family moved following her father’s retirement from the Marine Corps. She has worked at CCFW for nearly 25 years in a variety of roles including client services, program management, Parish Social Ministry, and Endowment & Planned Giving. Laura oversaw the planning team that developed the plan for expansion into the northwest part of our service area and became the first director of the Northwest Campus when it opened in Wichita Falls in 2014. Since then, she has been part of the development of both short and long-term services offered in the community and developed the plan to implement the Education Navigation program throughout the diocese.
Laura earned her Masters of Servant Leadership from Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She and her husband, Tim, love to travel and are blessed with four children and are the proud grandparents of three grandsons, who keep their weekends busy with lots of soccer.
